Latch bolt keeper



Feb. 28, 1950 J, ROETHEL I 2,499,165

LATCH BOLT KEEPER Original Filed Feb. 10, 1949 HIVZF/V Y Patented Feb. 28, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LATCH BOLT KEEPER John H. Roethel, Detroit, Mich.

Original application February 10, 1949, Serial No. 75,523. Divided and this application September 19, 1949, Serial No. 116,499

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to latch mechanisms, such as are used with the doors of automobiles and like vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to latch mechanisms of the type having a multi-headed latch bolt rotatable into and out of latching engagement with a cooperating keeper, and having any suitable'releasable means for preventing unlatching rotation of the latch bolt when the door is in its closed position.

Due to manufacturing inaccuracies, door mounting variations, and wear of parts through usage, play or lost motion frequently occurs or develops between the cooperating latching surfaces of the latch bolt and the keeper, and as a result, rattling or vibration of the door occurs.

The present invention, therefore, has for its primary object the provision of simple and improved means for effectively maintaining the rotary latch bolt and its cooperating keeper in firm latching engagement or contact when the door is in its closed position, notwithstanding the initial existence or the subsequent development of the aforesaid inaccuracies, variations and wear.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of latch mechanism having simple and improved automatically operating take-up means for effectively maintaining the rotary latch bolt and its cooperating keeper in firm latching engagement or contact when the door is in its closed position.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of door latch mechanism which is characterized by its structural simplicity, the economy of its manufacture, the ease of assembly of its parts, its strong and rugged character, and its general effectiveness and efilciency.

Further objects of the present invention, and some of its practical advantages, will be referred to in and will be obvious from the following description of two embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an automobile, a portion of the left front door thereof being broken away to show the use therewith of the latch mechanism embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the present latch mechanism, the view being on the line 2-! of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is another vertical sectional view of the latch mechanism, the view being at a ninety degree angle with respect to the view constituting 2 Fig. 2 and being on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The present invention is a division of my copending application, Serial Number 75,523, filed February 10, 1949.

Before the latch mechanism here chosen for illustration is specifically described, it is to be understood that the invention here involved is not limited to the structural details and/or the particular arrangement of parts here shown, as latch mechanisms embodying the present inventionmay take various other forms. It is also to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is used for the purpose of description and not limitation, as the scope of the present invention is denoted by the appended claims.

Although latch mechanisms embodying the present invention are not limited to use with automobile doors, they are particularly useful therewith, and for disclosure purposes here, an embodiment of such latch mechanism is herein illustrated as used with the door A of the automobile B, Fig, l.

Briefly stated, and as will hereinafter more fully appear, door latch mechanism embodying the present invention embraces a multi-headed rotary latch bolt, a cooperating keeper, (the latch bolt being usually mounted on the door and the keeper on the fixed body post or pillar at the jamb face of the door opening, as in Fig. 1), and simple and improved means, including a slidable wedge, for automatically taking up any play or lost motion that otherwise might occur, due to manufacturing inaccuracies, door mounting variatlons or wear of parts, between the rotary latch bolt and its cooperating keeper when the door is in its closed position. As a result, side-wise rattiing or vibration of the door when in its closed pos tion is efiectively prevented.

Moreover, the construction and arrangement.

of the rotary latch bolt, its cooperating keeper, and the take-up means may be and preferably are such as to eiiectively and firmly hold the door against vertical movement with respect to the body post or pillar, thus making wholly unnecessary the use of separate or auxiliary door-supporting devices.

Inasmuch as the interior actuating and operating means for the rotary latch bolt, such as the means for releasably holding the latch bolt from unlatching rotation when the door is closed. etc.. form no part of the present invention, are well known inthe art and may take various forms,

such means are not here illustrated or described.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, it will be noted that the multi-headed rotary latch bolt l0, which is suitably mounted on the outer end of a pin or shaft ll journalled in a plate or wall l2 of the door A, is disposed beneath its cooperating keeper l3 for latching engagement therewith when the door is in its closed position, the latch bolt being freely rotatable when the door is open, as will be readily understood.

As herein shown, the keeper l3 constitutes the lower portion of a member I of generally c-shape in side elevation, which member is mounted by screws l5 or the like upon aplate or wall I5 01 the body post or pillar at the lamb face of the door opening. The recess or cavity of the c-shaped member faces outwardly for the reception of an abutment on the door, as will be hereinafter explained. To effectively and automatically take-up any play or lost motion that otherwise might occur between the rotary latch bolt and its cooperating keeper when the door is in its closed position, or in other words, to firmly maintain one of the latch teeth or projections l1 in latching contact or engagement with the inner tooth or projection it of the keeper when the door is in closed position, a slidable take-up wedge I9 is carried within the outwardly facing cavity or recess of the c-shaped member. When the door is closed, the slidable take-up wedge i9 has cooperative engagement with an abutment carried by the door. for cooperation with said wedge is in the form of a hollow wedgehaped projection which, when the door is closed, is clamped or wedged between the top surface 2| of the keeper l3 and the slidable take-up wedge i9. It will be understood that the tooth It provides the final locking position of the bolt and the tooth |8a provides the safety locking position of the bol For the slidable support of said wedge IS, the upper portion 22 of the C-shaped member I4 is preferably provided with a downwardly and outwardly inclined surface 23, against which said wedge is held and along which said wedge slides, the wedge being held and guided in its sliding movement by a rod 2! extending through said wedge and having its ends suitably anchored in The door abutment 20 the C-shaped member ll which is here provided with a depending lug or flange 25 for the outer end of said rod. Although the surfaces 2| and 23 are shown as oppositely inclined and therefore somewhat angularly related, it will be understood that these surfaces may in some instances be substantially parallel. -7 To resiliently urge thewedge IS in an outward direction along its guiding surface 23 into wedging take-up relationship with the cooperating door abutment 20, a coiled spring 26 is provided for said wedge, the spring surrounding the inner end portion of the guide rod 24, with one end abutting the inner upright portion of the c-shaped member ll and its other end lying in a recess or counterbore 2'| ofthe wedge as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

As will be readily understood, the take-up action of the sliding wedge i9 and the cooperating abutment 2|! will effectively insure proper latching engagement of the rotary latch bolt l0 and its keeper l3 upon the movement of the door toits closed position, the wedge being resiliently urged in an outward direction into a wedging position between the guiding surface 23 therefor and the abutment 20. Any play or vertical motion responsive to a corresponding motion of the door that otherwise might occur between the latch upper and lower bolt and its keeper is thus effectively and automatically prevented so that the door is firmly held in its closed position against vertical motion.

From. the foregoing it will be seen that in accordance with the present invention there is provided a relatively simple and compact keeper or striker for a rotary toothed bolt comprising a single unitary body or supporting member which is constructed to serve three important pur oses, mainly, to hold the bolt in latched position, to support and guide the wedge l9, and to support and guide the door abutment 20. In accomplishing these purposes, the body is formed generally of c-shape with the upper and lower portions 22 and I3 respectively of the body spaced apart to provide an opening having vertically spaced bearing surfaces. As has been previously described, the lower portion I3 of the body is formed with downwardly projecting teeth It and Ila with which the teeth ll of the bolt mesh as the door is closed. Thus, by providing the opposed surfaces 2| and 23 which are slidingly engaged by the members 20 and I9, respectively, it is possible to hold the door member 20 firmly in position against vertical motion between the upper and lower spaced portions 22 and I! of the body while at the same time enabling the wedge It by cooperation with the block 2| to act as a take-up. This insures at all times a constant relationship between the bolt tooth l1 and the striker tooth II.

An important advantage of the unitary cshaped structure of the body is that the relationship of the critical surfaces, i. e., the distance between the contact surfaces of the teeth It and |8a and the surface 2| and the distance between the surface 2| and the surface 23 on which the wedge is guided, is substantially the same in every installation. Thus, assuming that the relationship between the abutment member 20 on the door and the axis of the rotary latch ll does not vary appreciably in manufacture, the installer of the device embodied in this invention can be reasonably certain that on all doors of the vehicle the rotary latch tooth and the keeper tooth will mesh along substantially the same line of contact. This construction also assures that the rotary latch tooth and the keeper tooth will be maintained in constant predetermined relation during operation of the vehicle by the cooperative engagement of the wedge l9 and the door abutment 20. This is governed by the relationship of the fixed bearing surfaces 2| and 23 on the body and the teeth I! and i811.

Although the present latch mechanism parts may be made of any suitable material. such as metal, one or more of said parts, including the slidable take- -up wedge, its cooperating abutment, the c-shaped member of which the keeper is an integral part, and the multi-headed rotary bolt may be made of nylon plastic material, as such material has extreme strength. and ruggedness, can be readily formed into :any desired shape and which would provide parts making little or no noise upon contact thereof and which would be of long lasting character.

Iclaim:

l. A keeper structure adapted to be fastened to a body for cooperative engagement with a pair of relatively fixed verticallys'paced door abutment members carried on a swinging door, comprising a unitary generally O-shaped body having generally horizontal body portions spaced apart vertically to provide an opening closed at its inner side by a vertical portion ,5 or the body rigidly connecting said upper and lower spaced portions, a wedge, means slidably mounting said wedge within said openingbelow the lower surface of said upper body portion,

and spring means urging said wedge outwardly,

the upper surface of said lower body portion opposite said wedge providing a surface upon which the upper of said door abutment members is slidable between such surface and wedge in wedging relation thereto, the lower side of said lower body portion having depending, spaced, tooth! like projections for cooperation with thelower of said door abutment members, said projections and said upper-and lower surfaces being held by said body in fixed vertically spaced relation.

'2. A keeper structure adapted to be fastened to a body for cooperative engagement with a pair of relatively fixed vertically spaced door abutment members carried'on a swinging door, comprising a unitary generally C-shaped body having upper and lower generally horizontal body portions spaced apart vertically to provide an opening closed at its inner side by a vertical portion of the body rigidly connecting said upper and lower spaced portions, a wedge, means slidably mounting said wedge within said opening belowthelowersurfaceofsaid upperbodyportion, and sprin means urging said wedge outwardly, the upper surface of said lower body portion opposite said wedge providing a surface upon which the upper of said door abutment members is slidable between such surface and wedge in wedging relation thereto, the lower side of said lower body portion having depending, spaced, tooth-like projections forcooperation with the lower of said door abutment members, said projections and said upper and lower surfaces being held by said body in fixed vertically spaced relation, said lower body portion projecting outwardly a distance beyond the upper body portion and the latter terminating at its outer end in a depending portion between which and said vertical body portion said wedge is slidable.

JOHN H.. ROE'IHEL.

REFERENCES crrnn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Lakin Feb. 11, 1941 

